Most fire trucks and fire men are provided with back pack air tanks for providing air to the fireman, or to fire victims during and after a fire. Such packs usually consist of a frame for resting on the upper back, suitable shoulder and waist straps, a cylindrical air tank usually inverted with the outlet at the bottom and at least one relatively wide flexible, resilient metal strap, encircling the tank midway of its height, for detachably mounting the tank on the frame.
If the fireman is to also carry a lifeline, which is usually fifty feet of quarter inch nylon with a tensile strength of at least one thousand pounds, it has been necessary for the fireman to wrap the line in convolutions around his waist. If not so carried, the usual life line, which is always carried into a burning building, is carried as a coil with the end wrapped around the coil and inserted into the loops and such a line not only requires both hands to uncoil and use but consumes considerable valuable time in uncoiling.
It has been proposed to festoon coil a hose in a fixed container for withdrawal through a front door as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,517,118 to Lee of Aug. 1, 1950.
It has also been proposed to festoon coil a blasting cap wire within a cylindrical container, access being had to the coil by breaking the container along a transverse centre line as in U.S. Pat. No. 1,983,141 to McFarland of Dec. 4, 1934.